


In the Bleak Midwinter

by b0ba_f3rnz



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Set in Episodes 159-160 | Scottish Safehouse Period (The Magnus Archives), Snow, They're In Love Your Honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b0ba_f3rnz/pseuds/b0ba_f3rnz
Summary: A snowstorm breaks out near the safehouse, leaving plenty of time for reflection. Based on a "snowed in" prompt from my friend!
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	In the Bleak Midwinter

“Jon, look.” 

Jon closed his book, the dull thud of it shutting filling the silent room. He looked up to the window, where Martin was standing, staring out at the fields beyond the cottage. 

Jon cleared his throat. “It’d be a bit easier to look if you weren’t blocking the window.” 

“Oh, shove off.” Martin responded, but he rolled his eyes fondly and moved out of the way all the same. Jon leaned forward, squinting. He wondered idly where he had misplaced his glasses this time. 

“It’s snowing.” Martin said.

“So it is,” Jon chuckled. He climbed off the worn sofa and joined Martin at the window. The snowflakes drifted down lazily, carving loose trails into the air. For a moment, Jon stiffened at the memory of fractals, of doors and undulating spirals, but all fear melted from his mind as Martin’s hand slid into his. Jon rested his head on Martin’s shoulder. 

“S’not bad, this.” Martin said, quietly. “Though I never liked winter much. Mum always made me shovel, and...” Martin trailed off. 

“I don’t think we’ll have any need to shovel here.” Jon said, squeezing Martin’s hand. “We’re all stocked up on food, and the snow isn’t falling too heavily.” 

Martin’s brow furrowed. “You say that, but-” 

“Martin.” Jon said firmly, turning to face him. “We’ll be fine.” He stood on tiptoes to kiss Martin’s cheek. 

“You’re probably right.” Martin sighed. 

“Of course I am.”

“I’ll toss you out into the snow.”

Jon clutched his heart melodramatically. “You wouldn’t _dare_!” 

Martin laughed, and Jon returned to the sofa. Martin stayed at the window for a moment longer, before wandering off to the kitchen, presumably to make tea. 

The snow continued to fall steadily throughout the afternoon. As the sun set, Martin opened the door to check how much snow had fallen, only to yelp and leap backwards at the miniature avalanche of snow that cascaded over his socks. As he grumbled off to the bedroom to get new ones, Jon peered out the window. There had been much more accumulation than he had initially thought, there had to be a good 7 centimeters of snow on the ground. He glanced upwards, surprised to see that the snow had begun to fall much more heavily. He could barely see a meter up. 

Martin reentered the living room, switching on the battered lamp and old wooden walls into stark shadows. Something in Jon’s face must have set off the alarm bells in Martin’s head, because he looked out the window too.

“Oh. Wow.” Martin said, shortly. 

“Yeah.” Jon rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I didn’t realize it would get this bad. Like I said, though-” He attempted a reassuring smile. “We’ve got food, and we’ve got each other.” Some small part of him cringed as he heard the words escape his mouth. He pushed it down. He refused to be ashamed of these things. 

Martin did not look convinced. He continued to stare worriedly out the window. 

“Martin?” Jon asked, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?” 

Martin looked at him. “What if we get snowed in?” He blurted out.

“What?”

Martin began to wring his hands together, twisting them in and out of each other. “What if we get snowed in?” He repeated. “What- what if we get trapped, a-and we can’t get out, like that girl on the underground or the coffin or-” Martin glanced distractedly back at the window. 

“Hey.” Jon said, placing his hands on either side of his face, gently guiding it back to look at him. “We’ll be fine. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that, Jon! I can count on one hand the times in the past five years when things have turned out ‘fine’.” 

“It’s just a snowstorm!” 

“It’s always ‘just’ something.” 

Jon sighed. “Look.” He said. “Maybe it is something awful, maybe we’ll be trapped here and die grizzly and horrible deaths. But we’d need evidence for that, right? And seeing as there really isn’t any, let’s just plan for a normal snowstorm, okay? If we get snowed in, well-” He shrugged. “We’ll shovel our way out.” He looked at Martin. “Both of us.” 

Martin relaxed slightly. 

“Yeah. Ok. No point in worrying about it for the time being.” 

“Good.” Jon said. 

“You want another cup of tea?” Martin asked. 

“Ah yes, the cure for all our ails.” Martin shot him a look. “Yes. Thank you” Jon amended.

As Martin bustled off into the kitchen, Jon shot one more glance out of the window. It was still snowing just as hard. 

He decided to focus on something else, and set about collecting all the blankets in the cottage and heaping them onto the bed. 

Martin returned to the living room with two large mugs of tea just as Jon lost his balance under the weight of the blankets, collapsing onto the sofa.

“Oh God!” Martin said, instantly setting down the tea and rushing over to crouch down beside Jon. Jon pushed himself up, smiling. “No need, just- just an accident.”  
He met Martin’s eyes, and silence filled the room for a beat. Then Jon burst into laughter. After a split second, Martin joined him, their voices rising in hysteria at the sheer absurdity of it all. That was, until Martin’s gasps of laughter turned to a heaving sob. 

“Martin?” Jon said, clasping his hands around Martin’s shaking shoulders. “Oh Martin, what- the snow isn’t _that_ bad, I-” 

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” Martin said, wiping his eyes. 

“No need.” Jon said, still watching him with concern. 

“It’s just- nothing can be normal anymore.” Martin said thickly. “I can’t- I can’t relax, we’ve seen so many horrible things that even a little bit of snow sends me right off the edge.” 

Jon wrapped his arms around Martin. “We’ve had a rough few years.” He said, quietly. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared all the time too. But- it’s worth it, for the normal things you don’t even think about. Like tea, or-or sharing a house or falling over because you took too many blankets in one go. That’s all normal, Martin.”

He felt tears trickle onto his shirt. “But I can’t convince myself of that.” Martin said. “What if it’s not what it seems, or if something tries to take it away? I can’t trust any of it!” 

“Can you trust me?” 

“No!” Martin said. “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. But how am I supposed to relax when you could get- _replaced_ or this cottage could get buried or-” Martin stopped, his chest heaving.

Jon hugged him tighter. “I’m scared too.” He whispered. “But if it’s some sort of supernatural horror, we won’t know until it happens, so we may as well enjoy the mean time.” 

“That’s optimistic.” 

Jon laughed dryly. “To be honest, I’m rather used to leaving the optimism to you.”

“Sorry.” 

“Oh god, that’s not what I meant.” Jon said. “It’s okay, Martin. I think I can handle taking on the job of hoping for us every once in a while.” 

Martin nodded. 

“And for the record, I promise I haven’t been replaced. I don’t think anyone else could annoy you this much.”

“Jon…”

“I’m sorry.” Jon said. “But really,” he pulled away from Martin, interlocking their hands as he did so. “As far as I can tell, I’m still me. That much I can promise.” 

Martin smiled weakly. 

“Let’s go to bed.” Jon said, standing up. “I’ll need someone to help me carry the blankets.”

Tea drunk and blankets piled on top of them, Jon shifted slightly to be closer to Martin. He could feel his rhythmic breathing against his cheek. 

“Thanks, Jon.” Martin whispered.

“What for?” 

“For this.” Martin said, throwing his hand over Jon’s side and pulling him even closer. 

“For normal.”

**Author's Note:**

> A little break from AUs! I was in the mood for writing fluff, but apparently I am incapable of writing fluff so I wrote emotional hurt/comfort instead. I hope you guys enjoy this fic!


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